Semi-convertible car.



E T ROBINSON SEMI-CONVERTIBLE om. APPLIOATION FILED FB. 11, 1908.

Patented June 15, 1909` Noam: Perskico. .uguggmcfpm n. c.

Patented June 15, 1909.'

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E; T.. ROBINSON.

SEMI-CONVERTIBLE GAR.

APPLIUATION FILED :$11.11, 190e. 925, 1 33.

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EDWARD T. ROBINSON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO ST. LOUIS OARCOMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION.

SEMI-CONVERTIBLE CAR.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, EDWARD T. ROBINSON, a citizen oll the United Statesola America, residing at the city ol' St. Louis, in the State oiMissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSemi-Convertible Cars, oi' which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part oi' this specification.

My invention relates to that class ol railway cars more particularlyused upon street railways and which are so constructed as to render themsuitable ior use in closed condition for winter service and opencondition l'or summer service.

The objects ol" the present improvement are to provide ellicient meansby which the sashes ol a semi-convertible car may be guided whenelevated into the deck compartment of the car and held from movementwhile inthe deck compartment and also to provide e'llicient means iorholding the upper sashes steady when in lowered positions.

Figure I is a vertical cross section taken through the upper portion ol"the wall and deck ol one side ol' my semi-convertible car. Fig. II is anelevation ol the parts shown in Fig. I viewed from the interior oiA thecar and' with a portion of the deck ceiling broken away to afford a viewoi the members back of it. Fig. III is an enlarged horizontal sectiontaken on line III-III, Fig. II. Fig.

V is an enlarged vertical section line IV`IV, Fig. II. Fig. V is in partan enlarged vertical section taken through an upper sash oll the car andin part an enlarged elevation ol' one ol the window posts ol' the car,the sash being shown in a slightly elevated position. Fig. VI is anelevation of the parts shown in Fig. V. Fig. VII is an elevation ol' alower corner of one of the lower sashes and a sash holder carriedthereby. Fig. VIII is an elevation ol one of the sash receiving platescarried by the upper sashes and in which the lower sashes are operable.

A designates the deck roof of my car and B the deck ceiling betweenwhich is a sash receiving compartment C.

D are the window posts containing sash runways that are furnished by theouter stops E and the inner stops or guides F.

F are guides or rest strips at the sides and taken on Patented .Tune 15,1909. Serial No. 415,354.

bottoms of the compartment C and which are practically extensions oi theguides F.

G is one ol the lower sashes operable in the window post runways andwhich carry sash holders` H having bolts I that are adapted to enterinto pockets J in the window posts when the lower sash is in a loweredposition, a partially elevated position and a completelyelevatedposition, thelast named position being that ol' the sash when itis raised into the deck sash receiving compartment C.

K is the upper sash 7hich is susceptible oi being elevated with thelower sash into the compartment C and which carries at its inner sidesash receiving channel strips L in which the lower sash is adapted to bemoved and guided when said lower sash is raised and lowered independent0i' the upper sash and without moving it into the deck sash receivingcompartment.

l designates a guide rail, see Figs. I to IV inclusive, that iscentrally positioned in the compartment C beneath the deck roof of thecar and is spaced apart from said deck roof will project beyond one of lsupporting strip, as seen most clearly in Fig. III. The upper portion ofthe guide rail extends in a curved line approximating the line of thedeck roof A while the lower portion of said rail is disposed verticallyalongside of the vertical member M of the car body, as seen at l Figs. Iand IV.

3 designates a traveler that is secured to the top rail of the uppersash K and which is provided at its upper end with a fork comprisingarms 4 and 5 which straddle the guide rail l to prevent lateral movementof the sashes G and K when they are elevated into the compartment C,thereby avoiding binding of the sashes against the side walls of thecompartment. The arm 5 is provided with a stud 6 located at its innerside and' which serves to support the upper sash when said sash iselevated into the deck compartment The traveler 8 is provided with a lip7, see Figs. I, II and IV, that is adapted to be engaged by the top railof the lower sash G when said lower sash is elevated, and both the lowerand upper sashes are to be elevated combinedly into the deck compartmentC,

and whereby the lower sash may cause the upward movement of the uppersash.

S is a spring located at the rear of the traveler 3 and adapted to bearagainst the inner or lower face of theguide rail l to serve as a meansfor holding the stud 6 of the traveler against the guide rail andobviate rattling or shaking of the upper sash when it is either in alowered position in the window or in an elevated position in thedeckcompartment C.

When, in the practical use of my car, the sashes in any window openingtherein are elevated into the deck compartment C above the windowopening the sashes are guided by the unliexibly supported guide rail lso that they are not permitted to play laterally to bind against thewalls at the sides of the compartment. During the upward movement of thesashes, and also during the downward movement thereof, the lower sashrides against the guide or rest strips F which, at this time, serve assupports for the sashes, thereby supporting the weight thereof. hen thesashes are completely mounted and supported in the compartment C aspreviously described, the weight oi the sashes is borne by the strips Fand jostling of the sashes is prevented, due to the engagement with theguide rail l by the traveler 3 and the spring 8 opposing said traveler.

9 designates rests that are secured to the window stops Eand which serveas supports for the upper sash K when it is in a lowered position. Theserests are provided with inclined upper portions 10 that are located atthe bottoms of the portions of' the window post runways which receivethe upper sash and they are also provided at their upper ends withinverted V-shaped members il located exterior of the window postrunways. l2 are socket plates secured to the bottom edges orl the uppersash and provided with inverted V- haped sockets i3 that are adapted to'fit onto the V-shaped members 1l of the rests 9 when the upper sash isin lowered position. This construction provides for the bottom of theupper sash being securely upheld in a manner to prevent dislodgment fromits supporting rests. To prevent rattling of the lower sash upon itsrests l provide at the lower end of each sash receiving channel strip Lan angular arm la which projects beneath the upper sash at its ends.llhese angular arms are adapted to rest upon the inclined portions l()of the rests 9 when the upper sash is in a lowered position and byriding downwardly thereon, act to create binding engagement between thesocket plates 12 and the V-shaped upper ends oi' the rests 9.

l claim:

l. The combination with a car body having a deck sash receivingcompartment, of a guide rail inilexibly supported in said comartment, atraveler carried by said sash and adapted to cooperate with said guiderail, and rest strips at the bottom of said compartment.

2. The combination with a car body having a deck sash receivingcompartment, of a rigid strip located in said compartment at the lowerside of the deck roof, a guide rail in'liexibly attached to said stripand extending beyond one side of the strip, a sash, and a travelercarried by said sash and having a stud adapted to travel on the extendedportion of said rail, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a car body having a deck sash receivingcompartment, of a guidel rail inflexibly supported in said compartment,a sash, a traveler carried by said sash and straddling said guide railat one side thereof, and a spring carried by said sash and adapted tobear against said guide rail at a point opposite to that with which saidtraveler has engagement, substantially as set forth.

4. rThe combination with the window posts of a car, of a sash operablein said posts, rests secured to said posts and having V-shaped membersat their upper ends, and socket plates carried by said sash and adaptedto engage the V -shaped members of said rests when the sash is inlowered position, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with window posts of a car, of sash rests secured tosaid posts and having inclined upper en s, and V-shaped members adjacentto said inclined upper ends, sash socket plates carried by said sash andadapted to engage said V-shaped members, and angle arms carried by saidsash and adapted to engage the inclined upper ends of said rests,substantially as set forth.

EDWARD T. ROBNSON. ln presence ol A. DICKMANN, M. C. MURPHY.

